First Mistake
by Snowtiger
Summary: Brooke is kidnapped by Arnaud and Lucrezia after they falsely believe she has information they want on the Quicksilver gland.


Title:                 First Mistake

Author:             Trisha (Snowtiger)  
Rating: PG-13 (Violence)

Disclaimer:        "The Invisible Man" characters aren't mine, though I have kidnapped them for the purpose of this fic and the                                     others in the series. Lucrezia is also not mine, but is owned by Elizabeth de Valera who has kindly allowed me to               abuse her character. Brooke and all characters involved in these fics other then these before mentioned                                 characters are mine to abuse and misuse.

Summary:         Brooke is kidnapped by Arnaud and Lucrezia after they falsely believe she has information they want on the                                     Quicksilver gland.

Spoilers:           This was, in its first draft, written before MFN so Arnaud is glandless. That's really the only spoiler.

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The blood dripped from her arms. Her half conscious mind was screaming at her to get out of there, but that was impossible. With a shake of her head, she tried to remain awake. Hearing the woman in her monotone voice ordering the man to kill her, Brooke pulled at the handcuffs again. It was without hope. He came over to her, roughly pushed up her chin and locked eyes with her inches from her face. Everything in her wanted to attack back. Instead of what she expected - a quick slap, a slash on the arm - he did something quite different. He smiled at her. The smile cried out with cynical arrogance.

Brooke pulled away from his grasp. She tucked her face into her shoulder to protect her face as best she could. Dying with dignity was her only option. Not pleading for her life. He turned his hand and ran the back of his fingers gracefully across her face. Her initial reaction was a gasp, and then her stomach turned. He had a hold of her face again he was running his index finger over her swollen lips. His actions at the present were scaring her more than when he had taken a knife to her arms, back, and chest.

She had noticed he had never touched her face except for the occasional open handed slap. Her eyes were closed shut now she didn't want to look at him. His face next to her made her breath quicken. He was whispering something in her ear, but Brooke couldn't make out the words. His hand was moving down her shoulder as he pressed his body closer to her.

A rustle in the other room made him straighten out. A raven haired woman came in. Brooke finally opened her eyes she could tell he even looked a bit guilty. It was obvious these two were lovers and she probably wouldn't have taken kindly to whatever it was he was doing. He turned back to Brooke and laid a slap across her face. She wanted to spit at him, but then that would have proven he had won.

He slowly sauntered over to Lucrezia and placed a long lingering kiss on her, but his eyes darted over to Brooke. Lucrezia smiled at him, but it was obvious that she wasn't fooled. "Allow me to speak with Miss Chester," she said looking over at Brooke with a noncommittal glance.

"Fine," replied Arnaud brushing off invisible specks of dust from his shoulder. "But I want her alive when you are done."

"You're definition of "alive" is quite varied from my own, Arnaud," she said taking a puff of the cigarette in her hand. "Leave us. I won't add to her disfigurement. There are, after all, more persuasive means."

He straightened his collar and walked out, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. Lucrezia let her eyes sweep to Brooke. Her lips pushed together she snuffed out her cigarette and began to prepare a syringe she had taken out of a padded case. "Now pet," she mocked. Lucrezia picked up the Brooke's wallet that had been lying on the table. 

"Amber Brooke Chester, but you told Arnaud you're name was Brooke," she said with a cruel smirk. "Why don't we find what other secrets are in that head of yours? I suggest you don't try to struggle when I remove the restraints. Assassination is one of my specialties, and despite what Arnaud desires I will not have a second thought of exterminating you on the spot."

Brooke flinched. She knew that this woman wasn't afraid of killing - probably enjoyed it actually. There was not a struggle when Lucrezia unlocked the handcuffs and ordered her to get up. It was actually nice to get up from that chair her legs had fallen asleep. She wobbled a little as Lucrezia squeezed her shoulder, and forcefully pushed her down onto a couch. Taking Brooke's right hand which still bore the handcuffs she snapped the empty end of the handcuffs around the leg of a sturdy table.

"Don't be anxious this won't hurt… much," she said bringing the syringe down on Brooke's arm.

"Wait!" cried Brooke trying to pull away. She dropped to the ground pulling on the handcuffed arm. Whatever was in that syringe she didn't think it was a flu shot. Lucrezia lost patience and plunged the needle into her neck. Brooke shrieked. It was like fire spreading through her body. A blackness was flooding her mind. Her last thought, before the darkness swallowed her up, was that she hated Lucrezia and would until she died.

The sound of her own voice brought Brooke out of the haze. She was blindly answering questions. Her mind was being flooded with a million sensations. Whatever was in that shot was probably a highly reactive drug. Lucrezia's voice was breaking into her forming thoughts asking her what was the project she was working on.

Brooke began to answer, but a wave of images hit her. She was reliving one of the most painful moments of her life. She was stuck in the classroom, trapped with a murderous gun man roaming the halls outside. Only that gunman was her best friend. The memories of that day were warped with the hallucinations caused by the drug. Physical signs of stress were starting to emerge.

"Trevor…. Don't please. It's Amber… It's Amber." Brooke was struggling, not because she wanted to, but because her mind gave her no choice. She had to try and break free. The images of Trevor became one of a monster. Even the teeth jarring slap by Lucrezia had little effect. The visions were beginning to take hold of her whole being, slowly, and unconsciously she was letting herself be swept away.

"Arnaud!?" called Lucrezia.

"What is it now?" he asked leaning on the door frame. His tiff was now over with her.

Carefully she restrained her voice. This girl had no information anyway, but getting on Arnaud's bad side by killing her was not beneficial at the time. "The girl seems to be having an adverse reaction to the serum," she replied nonchalantly as Brooke squirmed in fear of the invisible nemesis.

"Where is the puncture wound?" he asked looking at her arms. It was hard to tell through the scars, but he was sure that it wasn't there.

Lucrezia shrugged. "I told her to halt and she refused so I emptied it into her neck."

Arnaud sighed heavily and adverted his eyes. "You really must learn more patience. I need that girl if I am to get the rest of the study."

"She knows nothing. Before she went into this state she told me that they were working on a brain cancer study. She had no idea what she was dealing with. Just let the drug take its course and we can dump her body…"

"No!" he shouted. "No, the hallucinations must have distorted her memory. She must have that information. How else could she know what she knows?"

It was Lucrezia turn to sigh now. "Because you told her, pet, all she does is rephrase what you tell her and add her own little spin. If she hadn't already been indoctrinated, we might have been able to use her. She is quite good at manipulating, at least men like you," she replied, her last sentence dripping with disdain.

Brooke was being driven unconscious by a torrent of sensations. It was overloading her brain structure. The only thing she knew was that real, was the hatred she felt for the person who did this to her. The voices were being blended with the images. Nothing made sense. Sleep was what she was craving.

Arnaud looked over at the girl. It wasn't pity, but something else that made him look away. He had seen others in pain, many times he had caused it. Somehow she wasn't to die now. That would have meant his mission would be for not. "Give me that vial," he ordered Lucrezia, pointing to one with a burgundy liquid.

Lucrezia obeyed. She would have Brooke dead, but now it wasn't worth the fight. Watching as Arnaud injected the liquid into the girl's arm Lucrezia sighed. "What a waste." Arnaud unlocked the cuffs as Brooke dropped into unconsciousness, he picked up her limp body.

"What are you doing?" she asked pulling out her cigarette case. She didn't like where this was going. Arnaud looked at her his eyes flashing. He hated to be questioned. Maybe this girl wasn't worth it after all.

"I'm taking her to one of the rooms. She needs to lie down, so the drug will be flushed as quickly as possible."

"Yes I'm sure she does," she replied hotly. "Arnaud, I think you are growing soft. You should watch yourself, things like these can be the end of you."

He didn't reply. He instead carried his load to a nearby bedroom. The room's decor was quite standard, with its oak dresser and white crème tic bed. Arnaud took the handcuffs and hooked one end to the bared headboard. Loosening the top buttons on her shirt, he surveyed the damage he had done earlier. Brooke's skin had by now formed scabs over many of the wounds, but some of the burns that Lucrezia had inflicted with the butt of her precious cigarettes still stuck to the cloth of her shirt. If this had been the first day she was here he might have let the serum run its course. But now maybe Lucrezia was right and he was growing soft. With a sigh he ran his hand over her face again and left the room.

Brooke fought the demons of her mind until finally they started to subside. "It was just a dream," she thought. "It was all a dream." With a smile she tired to get out of bed, but the grim reality pulled her back the handcuffs were firmly in place. The smile faded when her eyes focused on the woman sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Tell me Amber," began Lucrezia.

"Don't call me that."

"Oh, are we sensitive about it?"

"Just leave me alone."

"That I will do. Arnaud is losing his interest in you," the side of her mouth turned up as she looked down at the helpless girl. "Assumed I was unaware of his… attention? He can be quite gentle when he wants to be."

Brooke's anger overflowed as she cursed at Lucrezia. Lucrezia laughed she had made the girl lose control, finally. Maybe letting Arnaud have his way wasn't such a bad idea. It would be the perfect ultimate insult. Then finally she could kill the throne in her side and move on with something else.

She clicked her tongue. By the look on her face, it was obvious she believed she had won. Turning she continued to grin at her triumph as she left the room.

Brooke allowed the tears to flow freely. It was the first time she had cried since she was kidnapped. The humiliation still burned on her face. "He was going to… No, she wouldn't let that happen. She would get out." She noticed her backpack had been placed was in a corner of the room. She rolled, as best she could, off the bed and yanked at the cuffs. It stung, but she didn't care. Pulling the bed slowly towards her, she hoped these walls would quiet the sound.

Finally she was close enough to reach the pack with the tip of her free hand. In it was a lock pick a friend had given her, after she had locked her keys in her car for the 5th time, as a joke. Now she hoped to God could figure out how to use it. Getting the handcuff off was only the first step. She would still have plenty left to do. Finally after what seemed like hours of trying, the lock clicked and the handcuff fell from her wrist. She pressed her finger on the bloody mess left around her wrists by the handcuffs then stood up. Nausea swept her being, but she was too determined. She dumped out her bag, grabbing anything she could use as a weapon. As an afterthought she grabbed a disk which held a pet project of hers. The disk held programs capable of overriding security systems.

Listening at the main door she could hear the voices of Arnaud and Lucrezia. Turning she went to the other door and slowly opened it. It led to another room. A flap of a tapestry caught her eye. Pulling it away, she found a sliding door. She looked around the door for any discoloration or fading by use. Finally she found the spot and pressed steadily. The door slid open into a steel walled hallway. Every few yards Brooke would have to lean against the wall to subside the nausea. Her ears were perked for any sounds.

The whoosh of a sliding door opening caught her interest. Without a thought she ducked into a nearby hallway. A man in a crisp suit walked through the halls. Brooke hoped that he would lead her to a way out before Arnaud and Lucrezia discovered that she was gone. Brooke's strength was coming back as well as her mind. Finally he went to a door and punched in a five digit number. His concentration was so that he didn't see her as she strained to see the code. After a few minutes of waiting she punched in the code. The room was full of computers. It was her paradise. Hearing the voices of two men she ducked behind one of the computer stations.

The men were arguing over a game of cards. It seemed completely comical since what Brooke had been through the past few days. Looking at the computer she smiled, it was running. Silently as she could she slipped her disk into the slot. Her afterthought had been a good idea after all. This computer was running some sort of information about a casino in Mexico, but minimizing it she was able to execute the program. Breaking into the network was her first barrier. Sweat poured from her brow as she worked furiously. Finally the program cracked it.

She was amazed at the complexity of Arnaud's system. Ever few minutes she would stop and listen to the two men still laughing or talking. The humming of the other machines in the room drowned out the click of her keystrokes. By now she had learned the schematics of his fortress. Luckily almost all the doors were electronic, at least in the underground. Setting a pattern she hoped that her timing was right. She was going to have all the doors lock, except for the ones she needed to escape. Once she executed the command they would know exactly where she was. The pain of the physical torture she had been through was becoming quite evident again.

Brooke looked down at her torn shirt. She hadn't noticed before that her top buttons had been undone. Her face flushed again. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious or what happened during that time, but she pushed these worries aside. Pacing herself she breathed deeply. She gave herself 15 minutes to get out then the computers would start to fry everything. If she was going to die she might as well take everything with her. With a swift stroke she hit the enter button and started to run. An alarm began to sound echoing in her ears. The two men were startled, being caught off guard, and shouted at the fleeing figure.

Brooke ran as quickly as she could. She pulsed as she bounced off the walls. Her head began to spin. Finally she could see the exit. Hopefully beyond that, she could find a way to get back to civilization. A shadow, however, emerged. With the shake of his head he looked like a teacher fed up with the antics of a hyperactive child. "Tsk, tsk, did you really think you could get away?"

Her mind was slipping again into the feverish hallucinations of the Trevor monster. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, then opened them again to face Arnaud. "Just do it," she screamed. "Why the games? Kill me get it over with," she continued slowly slumping to the floor exhausted.

"Yes well, I promised that pleasure to someone else," replied Arnaud as Lucrezia walked up from behind.

Pulling out a gun from the holster on her right hip she leveled it at Brooke. "Say goodbye, pet. A pity, really there was so much I could have taught you, Amber," she said. Her soft fingers began to squeeze the trigger.

A spark ignited the panel near Lucrezia knocking her off her feet. Arnaud ducked for cover as another panel exploded. Brooke summoned her strength and scrambled to her feet. She ran, slipping a few times, down the hallway and out the door. Other men were running towards the building as the smell of burning rubber swamped the air. One man had jumped out of a jeep, dressed totally in a black swat type outfit. He had left the keys in the ignition. Brooke hid behind another parked car as he ran past. Luck was on her side.

She threw the car into reverse and backed out at full speed. Flipping the car around, she drove. She didn't care where she was going as long as it was away from here and to a phone. Brooke pitied the first people who saw her. Her bloody ragged clothes and burnt smell made her look like a refugee from some war torn country. Looking up at the rear view mirror she noticed her eyes were still dilated from the drug.

The drive seemed like hours, but it was possibly only minutes before she found a little gas station. Not bothering to turn the engine off she made a mad dash for the pay phone and called 911. After a few minutes of pleading with the dispatcher she was joined by a marked police car. When the first officer got out of the car he whistled.

"Get an ambulance here now," he said to his partner.

Brooke sat down in the dust, as others began to come out of nowhere to crowd around the strange sight. The right side of her face was showing signs of a burn now. The two officers kept the crowd at bay, not wanting to look at her themselves. Finally the wail of the ambulance was a welcome relief. When the EMTs began to emerge she thought that the hallucinations were returning. She was sure one of them was the man who had gotten her into this mess - Dr. Daniel Ostrowski.

"Brooke, It's me. Everything is going to be ok," said Daniel. She looked up at him with the wild eyes of a drug user. Carefully, he wrapped a blanket around her. She turned to him and laid her head on his chest. Tears began to drop, and then stream down her face. Daniel put his arms around her holding one hand on the back of her head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, as he led her off to the waiting ambulance.


End file.
